Is it still an uncompetitive wage when you:
1. Don't require housing etc money
2. Are ranked up to any degree higher than random POG
?
1. Don't require housing etc money
2. Are ranked up to any degree higher than random POG
?
However, it is predictable. If you aren't super career minded and are on track to be stuck at minimum wage for a long time, then the military provides a lot of structure and probably higher compensation.
If you have the option to get into a tech/finance/etc high paying career, then there's no contest. Entry level engineer at big tech companies make about the same wage as an O6 living in a high cost of living area and like 20++ years in service. Once you get promoted once, you're making more than a general.
Typical offsetting factors that rational agents weigh include pensions, education subsidies and other benefits, job stability, and perceived upward mobility.
What is really crazy to me is financial regulators on GS schedule.
And federal government pays well compared to a lot of local stuff.
There are plenty of people going to Ivy League schools who have military backgrounds.
Going to one of the military schools is highly prestigious. They aren’t easy to get into in the least.